Page:Federal Reporter, 1st Series, Volume 8.djvu/249

UNITED BTATES W. BTONB. 285 �of the statute in such case made and provided, and against the peace and dig- nity of the United States. ; �(4) And the grand jurors aforesaid, upon their oaths aforesaid. do fm-ther present, that on, to-wit, the day and year aforesaid, at said Ashport, and within the jurisdiction of this court, the said David A. Stone did unlawfully, with force and arms, steal, take, and carry away certain goods, wai-esj and merchandise then and there belonging to said steam-boat City of Vicksburgh, and then and there the property of some person or peraons whose names are to the grand jurors aforesaid unknown, — that is to say, two bureaus, of the value of, to-wit, $50; one sofa, of the value of, to-wit, 625; and two sets of mattress springs, of the value of, to-Wit, $20, — the said steamboat then and there being in distress and wreeked upon the waters of the Mississippi, river, on the Tennessee shore thereof, and within the admiralty and tnaritime juris- diction of the United States, while -engaged in commerce and navigation on said river between Vicksburgh, in the state of Mississippi, and St. Louis, in the state of Missouri, contrary to the form of the statute in such case made and provided, and against the peace and dignity of the United States. �W. W. MuBKAT, U. S. Att'y for said District. �The proof of the government tended to show that the defendant,' along with others, eut into the texas of the ill-fatod vessel and took away the articles mentioned in the indictment, The ehief witness, Bennett, a detective employed by the owners to hunt up the missing goods, testified to a confession made by the defendant to that effect; He testified that he went to see the defendant at or near his house, in Company of two other men, one of whom was at the time a depaty marshal for this district; that these two men remained some 200 yards away, but in sight of witness, when he had thfr cOnversatiori with defendant; that at that time no process had been issued or any steps taken to institute criminal proeeedings against defendant, and that he (witness) probably told defendant that he should rather go into court after having made restitution for the goods than before, but that no threats were made. On cross-examination he further tes- tified that he was agent for the collection of goods lost and taken from the wreck, and had with him letters of authority (which he showed defendant) from the underwriters, the wrecking eompany, anr] the owners of the boat, one of which letters instructed him to institute criminal proeeedings against the guilty parties in the federal courts ; that the deputy marshal was employed by witness simply to aid him in recovering lost goods, etc., or their value in money, but that he (tho deputy marshal) was not aeting in any way in an officiai capacity. The witness further stated that, having taken the advice of counsel, he did not then believe any criminal proeeedings could be instituted. He subsequently distributed throughout this neighborhood smali ��� �